Raleigh Media Company is a great new start-up marketing company getting started by my friend, Morgan Goettge. We met via a mutual friend, Nicolette Moinet, founder of DTM Foundation when working on a project where she helped me put a video together for me to help the community. I have a lot of respect for both of these two ladies and their passion for helping others and giving back to our community. I have learned a lot from both of them and am honored to be able to tell you about Morgan's new business. I know this may help anyone who is looking to social marketing for promoting their business, event or just gaining some insight. I felt this would also appeal to the homeschool community because it's such a great story behind the process of how Morgan's business has been created, everything starts with a story, and I had a great time learning more about Morgan and her passions and creativity and how her path has led her to starting "Raleigh Media Company"! I had an interview with her and it's below, just keep reading. This information may be a great resource for anyone who may be thinking of starting a blog or your own business as a way to help market your new endeavors.

I think finding your voice and being able to share your message is so important and meaningful and to feel connected to others and Morgan understands this firsthand. I truly believe Morgan has a passion to help you get your voice heard and strongly believes in the value of small businesses starting from people's passions and she wants nothing more than to give back by helping get your voice heard and is the person who can help and she has prices that will work for all budgets. I am truly honored to share about it here. You can read our interview below.

This fundraiser is a part of a new event series hosted byRaleigh Media Co.Events will take place once a quarter to benefit a non profit in the area.This first fundraiser will be at Crank Arm Brewing Company to benefit Carroll's Kitchen on Sunday, Oct. 22nd from 12-4 PM. Carroll's Kitchen is a nonprofit social enterprise restaurant dedicated to ending homelessness for women in Raleigh.

My Interview with Morgan Goettge

​The Lady behind Raleigh Media Co.

What ignited the spark in you to start a new business? What’s your story?

I’ve always wanted to start a business for a long time, probably since middle school with new ideas. I started with lots of sewing and painting work. I started using the internet more and becoming more familiar with html and graphics. I’ve always been good at doing videos and love how videos help get your idea across to others. Mom and Dad were both very entrepreneurial so it’s just always been part of me. A lot of my family members have started their own businesses.

What has the process been like for you to get where you are today? What have been some of your failures, and what have you learned from them?

One of my failures was in college wanting to be a make-up artist, but I see it now as more like a guide where it helped guide me to where I am today. In high school, I remember it's when I first felt like a I had failed because I had been first in my class all through high school and then was bumped down to second the last year when I took lots of hard classes. I fail all the time but I learn and grow from each one, so when you look at it that way, it's not failing, it's just learning.

If you had the chance to start your career over again, what would you do differently?

It’s just to do what I’m doing. Sometimes it’s just hard to put yourself out there, ya know?

What would you say are the top three skills needed to be a successful entrepreneur?

Perseverance because people are going to make you feel like you can’t do it sometimes.

Having a curious mind and learning and researching more.

To realize what you’re creating is going to impact the community. Ask yourself how this is going to help your community. Have a vision of where you want to take your business, what is it doing? And having a passion for what you do to do.

How long do you stick with an idea before giving up?

Listen to my intuition, and if I feel like it’s something I should pursue or whether to let it go.

How has being an entrepreneur affected your family life?

In all honesty, my family is very supportive of me and they all have businesses and it’s great that they support me. I do have to set my priorities.

What motivates you?

My creativity and focusing on what’s really important in life, my values and how to contribute to my community. To realize what’s important in life and how I can give back.

How do you generate new ideas?

Whenever I travel somewhere I feel like that helps because I’m not so bombarded. Watching movies, listening to podcasts, reading magazines and also meditating, taking time to think about what’s really important to you.​

How far are you willing to go to succeed?

I will work as hard as possible to achieve my goals. No matter what, it’s important to be honest and upfront with those I work with. I will lose sleep, I prefer not to lose sleep, but sometimes it may take that.

What is your greatest fear, and how do you manage fear?

My greatest fear would be getting comfortable and not wanting to keep growing. I manage that fear by reading quotes, telling myself I can do it, travelling, seeing new perspectives, meditating and keeping an open mind.​

What are your ideals?

I want to work with organizations where I help share their vision and give back to the community. Help businesses learn to work together and give back and to just be positive. To show local support and community in a way that you see it’s bigger and better for the community when we work together. We can do so much more together than we can apart.

How do you define success?

I think everyone has different versions of success. For myself, looking back on my dreams and making sure I’m not giving up on myself and on my dreams. Doing what makes you happy and not letting anyone stop you. Not giving up on yourself!

How do you build a customer base?

Building relationships, networking, reaching out. I need to pursue them and reach out. Word of mouth is the biggest thing!​

If you could talk to one person from history, who would it be and why?

The Dhali Llama because he had such great wisdom and to just gain insight into some of his wisdom. It seems like this type of wisdom can apply to relationships and business, anything really.

Who has been your greatest inspiration?

My parents! My Dad is just a very hard worker and very ethical and such a good person. Also my Mom was a very hard worker and very ethical.

What book has inspired you the most? (OR What is your favorite book?)

I wish I had more time to read. I love motivational and self-help books, stuff about mindset. Mindset is everything!​

What is your favorite aspect of being an entrepreneur?

My favorite part is coming up with new customized ideas and they’re always new. Just being creative!

What do you feel is the major difference between entrepreneurs and those who work for someone else?

A lot of people don’t feel comfortable putting themself out there and some don’t want to feel responsible for owning something. But in honesty, I don’t know if I know completely about this one.

In two words, characterize your life as an entrepreneur.

Ocean Waves.

What are your hobbies? What do you do in your non-work time?

I like to stay active. I do yoga, bar classes like pilates, cycling and stay outdoors as much as I can. I like to stay active as much as I can. Spend time with family, friends. I also have a garden.​

What sacrifices have you had to make to be a successful entrepreneur?

My social life. It’s okay though, I just don’t have a desire to do what most 25 year olds usually do in their spare time.

Excluding yours, what company or business do you admire the most?

Under 30 experiences—A travel company. It’s so cool, they have a great community. They engage people and create energy and helping the countries they visit. ​

If you were conducting this interview, what question(s) would you ask?

What are some of your business goals?

I want to figure out a way to work with non-profits and how to apply for grants in a way to not charge them for helping them give back to the community.​

]]>Thu, 03 Aug 2017 11:47:38 GMThttp://www.pausereflectlearngrow.com/trianglemonthlyreview/pinots-paletteMay contain affiliate links. This simply means that if you choose to buy, it helps our home and homeschool. See FULL DISCLOSURE.

I absolutely love painting. You can actually read about how I started back up again recently and has helped me to be creative again here on my personal blog if you would like. THANK YOU to my Friends and Family

Recently, a homeschool group I'm in, some of us go out for a "Mom's Night Out"! Often times, we go out for painting!! I love it! I love being in an environment where I can creatively express myself and where it's okay to follow a guide of the painting the artist is teaching us about up front, but to make it "OUR OWN"! My friend found Pinot's Palette recently and I have fallen in love with this business and the environment they create so you can unwind and relax while you just "paint"! ​

Meet the owners of Pinot's Palette: Paul and Claire Banta

My first time painting at Pinot's Palette! North Shore! My favorite part: Seeing how different and unique each painting is!

Girl's Night out painting!

Group photo. Notice I go at my own pace. I still had not finished my painting just yet.

The owners, Paul and Claire, are friendly, genuine people who make made me feel right at home in an art studio! I've been two times so far and hoping to go again soon for a date night painting where you paint on two canvases and then they connect together, I thought that is so cute.

I was able to paint “The North Shore” the very first time I went to Pinot’s Palette with a friend who had invited me. It was so much fun and relaxing. I loved being able to visualize the sample painting and then look at mine and make it my own during the process.

I also loved that even though I’m a very “go at my own pace” type of person, meaning I finished a lot later than everyone else, they were okay with it and let me know I could stay as long as I needed to finish up if I needed to do so.

​What’s neat about Pinot’s Palette besides the awesome owners is the atmosphere, it’s so low key. It’s nice to just sit back and chat with friends while you paint. You can get up and walk around and look at everyone’s painting during the class if you want some inspiration and it’s just fun sometimes to see other people’s take on the same painting. I love how you can see people’s personality’s through creative outlets done only that way by them! It’s so amazing to me every time!

They also have a great rewards program where you can find out more here: PinotPerks

If you know you want to sign up for a class, fill this out so I can invite you as a friend. I can only invite up to three friends.​

Sign up here if you would like me to invite you to Pinot's Palette in Apex, NC! Don't forget to sign up for Pinot Perks as well when you get the invitation so you can earn perks!(This information will only be used to invite you to Pinot's Palette in Apex, NC. I hate spam too!)

I only can say how I know what it’s been like from my own personal experience as a ladies night so far! Hopefully getting to go soon for a date night possibly. They also offer mommy and me painting classes and you can set up events for homeschool, birthday parties or just because.

Since I have a daughter who loves art, I hope to take her sometime soon where we can paint together as well as setting up an event with our homeschool group for a fun outing for the kids! Cannot wait!

Also, they have special classes specifically for painting your pet if you would like, these do cost more since it is personalised with your pet picture but looks like a great way to draw your pet.

If I attend again, I will try to update with more experiences probably on the blog. You can subscribe HERE so you don't miss it! There are other options to choose from as well. I blog about real life, homeschool, Triangle NC, reviews and Usborne Books! You can manage your subscription to receive what you're interested in.

Have you attended here before if you are local to the NC area? This is the Apex location at Beaver Creek Commons. Let me know in the comments below about your experience! If you know anyone who may be interested in going to paint here, please consider sharing this article with them. You will be helping a local business who has a passion to see everyone having fun through painting!

]]>Tue, 27 Jun 2017 11:01:38 GMThttp://www.pausereflectlearngrow.com/trianglemonthlyreview/meet-your-state-symbols{May contain affiliate links. This means if you choose to buy, it helps our home and homeschool. See FULL DISCLOSURE.}

We went to the Raleigh State Capitol for the "Meet Your State Symbols" event they had on June 17th and it was so much fun. First, I will tell you, parking was great! You park about a block away in the same parking lot you use for the Museum of Natural Sciences and Museum of History. They both were there with a booth as well. We had so much fun and I will tell you, my older two didn't want to go at first. I felt like this would be fun and we'd be learning more about our state. The older two needed a refresher on the symbols and myself and as you can see from the picture above, our youngest had fun too learning about our state symbols.

This was set up so well for families to have fun and learn and to meet the state symbols. We met some honeybees, a box turtle, a pine barren treefrog and a Venus fly trap. We met the real Venus fly trap which is our state carnivorous plant as well as a puppet that our youngest is seen holding in the picture above. They let her hold that and pretend to be the plant eating a bug. She loved it so much! We learned they are only in a small part of North Carolina naturally.

We also learned a lot about the honey bees. I can't seem to find all of my papers from that day, but if someone went to this event and knows which beekeeper came to this event, I want to share their site here. They were great in helping educate us more on the honeybee. We were able to see them through the glass and learn how to spot the worker bees from the drones. We weren't able to see the queen at the time we were there, but she had just gone down into hiding right before we made our way to the honeybee booth. They gave us cute little stuffed animal honeybees for the kids and flower seeds for the honeybees to help do our part to help feed the bees. We were amazed of all the facts we learned about the honeybee! We learned that without the honeybee we couldn't survive as they pollinate 2/3 of our food that is grown! It takes 12 bees their entire lifetime (only 6 weeks) to make one teaspoon of honey. There were more facts, those I still remember though. It was a joy to listen to the excitement they had for educating us on the honey bee.

They also had clogging dances in front of the building that we were able to watch as we sat around the fountain in front and was fun to watch them dance. Clogging is the state folk dance. I also know my father-in-law would love to know this. The state folk art is whirligigs, he loves making these and we went to Vollis Farms to see these earlier this year with three generations of our family and was neat to learn the story behind how it came to be. I didn't see this one at the event, but I didn't get the chance to go to each booth that was there. We were there for about an hour and half before my youngest was ready to go. I think we would have done a free tour of capitol had I only had my two oldest with me. I just know she is the type who needs something she can do with her hands or very engaged type of activity in these types of environments.

We are so very thankful for all who put this event together, we all had fun and enjoyed it so much. I hope they bring this back as an annual event and was fun! We were very excited to attend this event and to meet our state symbols! We love living in North Carolina!